A weekly market report by Hazeltree shows hedge funds have significantly increased long positions in energy stocks as the Iran conflict enters its seventh week. Long positions rose more than 10% since February amid stalled U.S.-Iran talks and U.S. naval blockades of Iranian oil tankers. The energy sector is up over 22% this year due to higher oil prices. Morgan Stanley data indicates that energy was the only net-bought sector in U.S. stocks for the week ending April 10, with 55% of tracked companies seeing increased long bets. A daily market report shows hedge funds added crude-related long positions across 6,000 global stocks and 600 asset firms.

A report released by data platform Hazeltree on Wednesday showed that as the Iran conflict enters its seventh week, hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in energy stocks, with long positions up more than 10% since February. Following unsuccessful U.S.-Iran negotiations over the weekend, the U.S. Navy has blockaded Iranian port tankers. This year, the energy sector has risen over 22% alongside oil prices. The report noted that 55% of the companies tracked by Hazeltree have received long bets from energy stocks. Its data covers 600 asset managers and 16,000 global equities. Compared with February, 44% of asset managers increased their long positions by more than 10%. Data from Morgan Stanley also showed that, as of the week ending April 10, the energy sector was the only U.S. equity sector to receive net buying, as hedge funds added to long positions linked to crude oil. (Jinshi)